Imperial Inquisition
Imperial Inquisition The Imperial Inquisition is an Elvetan holy order which is the only institution in the Nesarian Empire to have higher legal authority than the Emperor, possessing absolute power over any individual within the Empire's borders. The Inquisition's purpose is to detect and punish those responsible for "heresy, corruption and other evil deeds". They essentially act as a kind of religiously motivated secret police. Although since the 20th century it has self-restricted itself to only targeting government and religious officials who are citizens, and it has not killed someone for "heresy" since the 1700s, historically it could target any person within the Empire's borders, and still technically has the legal authority to do so. The Imperial Inquisition has its own rules on how to punish people depending upon their crimes, and has courts to decide how to deal with their targets, however, they have the full legal authority to banish, imprison, and execute people found guilty of heresy, corruption or evil deeds. Execution is usually performed by hanging, however if this cannot be done for whatever reason they will be killed by having a sword thrust into their heart (Inquisitors always carry a sword). Historically, heretics were executed by being burned at the stake. Inquisitors sometimes intervene in simple criminal matters where the ordinary police are slow or do not have sufficient evidence to prove the accused is guilty despite knowing they are, but mostly the Inquisition operates outside the police's jurisdiction. The Inquisition was founded by King Mathdusias I in 600BC along with the Kingdom of Ascaria, and it expanded its scale with Ascaria, being integrated into the later Nesarian Empire. Little is known about the Inquisition beyond this, as the only individual outside the Inquisition permitted to review their records is the Emperor, who is honour-bound to stay silent about them. Therefore, even in modern times, the real scale of its operations and the number of members are guesses at best. However, it is known that the organisation reached its peak size and scope during the Nesarian Civil War, when it found vast numbers of heretics and corrupt and evil people to deal with, and it worked alongside the Swords of Akras to protect temples from looters. Prior to the Civil War, only males could be Inquisitors, but the need to rapidly recruit more Inquisitors meant that the institution opened its doors to women. There was initially some resistance to this, but female Inquisitors quickly proved themselves to be just as capable. The proportion of women in the Inquisition has never exceeded about 20%. The Inquisition is divided up into ranks, although no Inquisitor has legal authority over any other - it is more a symbol of moral authority, and lower Inquisitors are expected to follow the orders of the higher-ups, although they are not legally bound to. However, disobedience for the sake of disobedience or disobedience that in some way aids their targets will result in an Inquisitor being stripped of their rank and usually executed. Members of the Inquisition wear the same basic uniform, with details such as insignias displaying their rank. Their basic colour scheme has remained unchanged since their conception, and the current uniform design has changed little since the mid-1800s. Inquisitors wear a white ruffled shirt below a black jacket with a black cape, or below a black greatcoat (depending upon the weather). They also wear black trousers and black leather boots, and a black tricorn hat embroidered with golden thread. Inquisitors often wear black gloves, but this is not an official part of the uniform. Their uniform is decorated with golden trim, and they use steel buckles for their belts rather than the brass reserved for military uniforms. Inquisitors always carry a sword, and when on duty most also carry a handgun. On larger operations they often carry assault rifles and may wear body armour. Although the uniform is sometimes denounced as impractical, the Inquisiton has consistently defended its use of the traditional uniform, as Inquisitors should be "sufficiently intimidating". Indeed, the image of the Inquisitor in their dress is burned into the public consciousness and inspires obedience and fear in others. It is also the simple truth that the Inquisitors like dressing that way, and take pride in their traditional uniform.